[Pending] SW: MLP – United We Stand, Divided We Fall

[Hunterwolf]

I'm afraid I am destined for convention clear on the other half of the United States called GenCon. Seattle is a bit much for my budget at this very moment.

Oh. Well either way, have an awesome time! I just finished reading the session 2 doc and man, I can't wait to get this mystery solved! What's in the basement? What's Spring Oaks story? Is she friend or foe? Tricky the Bard, what about him? How does Tricky and Opposite know each other? Why does Opposite look like Happy? This "second" shadow that Arcadia has, who or what is it? What happened to the griffon and everypony else? Where is Carry? Where and how do we find these lantern items? Just what the hay is going on in this Tavern?!

So many questions.

[Hunterwolf]

Double post time!(Sorry about that.) Okay I guess I'll talk about my character Aegis now. So in my rough draft of my character's background I wanted him to be born and raised in Canterlot. I liked the idea of making the character's story and hindrances/edges being related so when I took the royal edge for Aegis I thought for a bit about how exactly he would relate to the throne of Equestria but in the end I just chose to be completely vague about his parents. I was just unsure how close in relation he would be with the princesses. I kinda thought it would be funny if he was prince Blueblood's brother or cousin. However that could be too close in relation and if that be the case he could possibly be in the princesses very extended family.

I entertained the idea of Aegis carrying a shield. Possibly a heirloom from his families past and he could use it in some situations but never in one that would risk the shield being heavily damaged since it would hold sentimental value.Now that I think about though maybe it can just be deadweight that he doesn't use until I take the "Trademark Item" edge in the future.I kinda wanted his character to have a "high class" personality but not to the point that he is snooty. Kinda following the premiss that you can take the royal pony away from high class society but you can't take the high class society away from the royal pony.

As for the whole knight situation, I liked the idea of a pony being themed around a shield and him wanting to be a knight but at the same time I wanted to give him a reason he hasn't tried to become one yet. In the end I chose for Aegis to want to travel and gain experience first before joining the knights or whatever is the norm in the realm of Equestria because he doesn't want to get special privileges since he is in high society. This way he could kinda justify himself joining the knights because he feels he has earned the right to do so.

Lastly, I wanted Aegis to be modest in his social standing and to aspire to co-exist with other players/characters without fear of being treated different. He would want to keep his royal standing under wraps but at the same time I think it would be really comedic if every once in a while he was recognized. This also ties in to the reason Aegis is in Derbyshire. Being that it is at the edge of the Equestria border I would figure it would be a prime location for him to get experience as a would be knight. Earlier in this post I mentioned I didn't know how he would be related to the Equestria throne and this kinda makes it complicated. I figured he would be famous enough that if he were in Canterlot he would be recognized by everypony but not famous enough to where he could at least hope of not getting recognized a good distance from his home.

As far as stats go I do actually have a question. Aegis has a skill in knowledge (military) and I was wondering if that is too vague of a knowledge skill. I was thinking he would know about military information since he wants to be a knight so much.

I apologize for the super ginormous post but I hope some you will take the time to read it and give me feedback on all these issues.

[Toboe LoneWolfHowling]

Well, you could also think about it this way, Hunterwolf: how many ponies out in the middle of "nowhere" will actually recognize X random noble, even if he is royalty? Sure, they might figure it out that Aegis is from Canterlot and is a noble by the way he speaks, but if no one recognized Rarity as being the Element of Generosity in Canterlot itself (Sweet and Elite)...well. Also, and this is personal experience, but while I can recognize President Obama, I can't recognize his daughters. Or his cabinet. Or any member of Congress. I can maybe recognize Prince William and Kate Middleton, but unless there's captions I can't recognize Prince Harry. Or the Duke of...whatever. (Although maybe actual British people can.) In other words: I would expect regular ponies to recognize Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, but anyone else from Canterlot? Naaaah. Not unless they purposely have an interest in royalty (like Rarity does), or said royalty has gotten into the tabloids somehow. Something I don't think Aegis has done yet. ;D

IMO Knowledge (military) is fine. If you want you could make it more specific like military training techniques (woo boot camp), military history, military hierarchy, specific sections of the military such as Army/Air Force/Royal Guard, but as a noble who likely grew up with access to the military as well as always wanting to be a knight (according to Aegis' background), all of these would likely be "common knowledge" to Aegis, if not studied on his own.

[Hunterwolf]

Well, you could also think about it this way, Hunterwolf: how many ponies out in the middle of "nowhere" will actually recognize X random noble, even if he is royalty? Sure, they might figure it out that Aegis is from Canterlot and is a noble by the way he speaks, but if no one recognized Rarity as being the Element of Generosity in Canterlot itself (Sweet and Elite)...well. Also, and this is personal experience, but while I can recognize President Obama, I can't recognize his daughters. Or his cabinet. Or any member of Congress. I can maybe recognize Prince William and Kate Middleton, but unless there's captions I can't recognize Prince Harry. Or the Duke of...whatever. (Although maybe actual British people can.) In other words: I would expect regular ponies to recognize Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, but anyone else from Canterlot? Naaaah. Not unless they purposely have an interest in royalty (like Rarity does), or said royalty has gotten into the tabloids somehow. Something I don't think Aegis has done yet. ;D

IMO Knowledge (military) is fine. If you want you could make it more specific like military training techniques (woo boot camp), military history, military hierarchy, specific sections of the military such as Army/Air Force/Royal Guard, but as a noble who likely grew up with access to the military as well as always wanting to be a knight (according to Aegis' background), all of these would likely be "common knowledge" to Aegis, if not studied on his own.

That's actually a really good point in reference to his reputation and actually puts my mind at ease. I think as long as the GM is ok with the skill then I'll leave it as is otherwise I'll probably change it to knight hood or royal military or something. Thanks for the feedback by the way!

[nintendo917What if God created the big bang, and we were both right?]

I currently have a knowledge skill in technology, but I now realize it's a bit too vague, so I wanna change it to a skill that pertains to technology, but it has a spedlsific focus, but also fitting my gamer persona. Any suggestions?

P.s. how much xp did we gain last session?

[Hunterwolf]

I currently have a knowledge skill in technology, but I now realize it's a bit too vague, so I wanna change it to a skill that pertains to technology, but it has a specific focus, but also fitting my gamer persona. Any suggestions?

P.s. how much xp did we gain last session?

Well in my opinion your previous knowledge skill was pretty good (electronics) but it probably wouldn't have many uses in the realm of Equestria. In that light maybe the skill could pertain to some knowledge within games your character plays. Like maybe if Arcadia plays a lot of strategy games then he would know a bit about strategy techniques or maybe swordplay from RPGs etc.

As for exp I'd like to know that too. Also I am curious. In the light that Archivist can't host a game session this weekend would anyone be opposed to having our third session this Wednesday evening? Maybe even another weekday or do you guys think we should just stick to the schedule and take a week off? Just a thought.

[Archivist]

That's actually a really good point in reference to his reputation and actually puts my mind at ease. I think as long as the GM is ok with the skill then I'll leave it as is otherwise I'll probably change it to knight hood or royal military or something. Thanks for the feedback by the way!

That skill sounds fine to me.I can just judge on each time and moment if it is useful or not to a situation.

A possible alternative for some relation to nobility, I liked the idea I saw in a couple of fanfics I read where Blueblood and others were distantly related to Princess Platinum (from Hearths Warming Eve). Hence Blueblood's title Prince without (probably) being in line to the throne of Equestria. I would be fine with something similar for Aegis. Otherwise there are plenty of ways for us to spin this.

I currently have a knowledge skill in technology, but I now realize it's a bit too vague, so I wanna change it to a skill that pertains to technology, but it has a spedlsific focus, but also fitting my gamer persona. Any suggestions?

P.s. how much xp did we gain last session?

Well it depends on what type of technology we are talking about. Technology itself is a pretty wide term. Perhaps would could pick something else for that knowledge that would still be useful for the campaign considering electronics aren't likely to come up all that much?

Everyone will have earned 2 XP from each session (total of 4 XP).

I don't see anytime this week being good. Tuesday I am getting all my stuff together, and then Wednesday I am driving out to go to the convention. Then the rest of the week is being eaten by the convention, so this week is just a no go as far as I am concerned.

[Hunterwolf]

I don't see anytime this week being good. Tuesday I am getting all my stuff together, and then Wednesday I am driving out to go to the convention. Then the rest of the week is being eaten by the convention, so this week is just a no go as far as I am concerned.

Alright, that's fine and understandable. I guess we'll just keep our normal schedule and skip a week unless something else comes up.

A possible alternative for some relation to nobility, I liked the idea I saw in a couple of fanfics I read where Blueblood and others were distantly related to Princess Platinum (from Hearths Warming Eve). Hence Blueblood's title Prince without (probably) being in line to the throne of Equestria. I would be fine with something similar for Aegis. Otherwise there are plenty of ways for us to spin this.

That's actually really interesting! I think I'll try playing around with that later.

[Toboe LoneWolfHowling]

Well in my opinion your previous knowledge skill was pretty good (electronics) but it probably wouldn't have many uses in the realm of Equestria.

We do know they have electronics in Equestia: we see arcade games in Hearts and Hooves day, cameras (with corresponding lightbulbs) in Green Isn't Your Color, Suited for Success, and Ponyville Confidential, an electric lamp in Applejack's bedroom in Family Appreciation Day, microphone and sound equipment in a Canterlot Wedding via Vinyl Scratch, random electrical equipment in Twilight's basement in Feeling Pinkie Keen, telescopes and more equipment in It's About Time, etc. At this point I think the real reason why Twilight uses candles is because Celestia does, and Celestia uses candles because she's ancient. XP

However, there's little reason for Arcadia to actually be interested in electronics such as lightbulbs, seismic recorders, or sound equipment, since he's a video game addict. Far more likely is Knowledge (video games), especially since he has a d12 in that skill. It makes sense background-wise to put a d12 in Knowledge (video games).

This isn't to say that a d12 in Knowledge (video games) would be completely useless in an RP. Particularly useful would be the puzzle-aspects of many video games, such as fitting pieces together a la Tetris, angle-calculations of Pong and Breakout, typical Genre-Savvy scenarios of RPGs, mazes, and various historical elements of games (Civilization). This does require some foreknowledge of actual video games, and permission from the GM for said video games to exist in Equestria (I highly doubt a game like God of War would exist in Equestria, for example; especially as we are playing this RP under the Tenet Against Violence), but it's nothing that a bit of Google research can't handle, I'd imagine.

(As a note, it's up for grabs a la the GM as to whether "modern consoles" akin to the Wii/Xbox/PS3 exist in Equestria; we do know they have arcade games at the very least.)

It's also conceivable that Arcadia could have a d12 in Knowledge (games), period. This would expand to sports (knowledge, however, not actual ability to play) and more puzzles in general -- including things like crosswords, Scrabble, Word Search, Sudoku, logic games, riddles, basic game theory, etc. Even cryptography, for instance. A skill in Knowledge (games) has the potential to be very useful in United We Stand, Divided We Fall, with a little creative thinking. Suppose we encounter a Sphinx-like creature guarding the Lantern next session - riddles would be under Arcadia's forte! (With Sunny assisting in any rhyming ones. ;D)

Potentially, as a video game addict and the fact that Arcadia is searching for the Ultimate Game and has a Corporation as a major enemy, Nintendo917 could split the d12 into two d8s: a d8 in Knowledge (games / video games) and a d8 in Knowledge (hacking) (plus more more skill point to be used elsewhere). This would provide skills in more computer science, programming, modding games, creating cheats, etc as well as providing a reason why the Corporation is after Arcadia in the first place: Arcadia tried hacking into the Corporation to get the Ultimate Game, and the Corporation went Oh No You Don't.

(However, I would not expect a skill in Knowledge (games) to give any sort of bonus to knowing how to wield a sword. I don't care how great you are at swinging a wii remote; it is NOT the same thing as an actual sword nor of fighting an actual opponent vs an AI. That would be like saying playing Tekken automatically makes someone a karate expert.)

TL;DR: VIDEO GAMES ARE TOTALLY USEFUL LET ME PLAY SOME MORE

Oooh, GenCon sounds really interesting, Archivist! May you travel safely, not get robbed by bad con food, and be inspired by other GMs to for new ideas! (Just, you know, take pity on your poor, unsuspecting newbies... )

[nintendo917What if God created the big bang, and we were both right?]

However, there's little reason for Arcadia to actually be interested in electronics such as lightbulbs, seismic recorders, or sound equipment, since he's a video game addict. Far more likely is Knowledge (video games), especially since he has a d12 in that skill. It makes sense background-wise to put a d12 in Knowledge (video games).

This isn't to say that a d12 in Knowledge (video games) would be completely useless in an RP. Particularly useful would be the puzzle-aspects of many video games, such as fitting pieces together a la Tetris, angle-calculations of Pong and Breakout, typical Genre-Savvy scenarios of RPGs, mazes, and various historical elements of games (Civilization). This does require some foreknowledge of actual video games, and permission from the GM for said video games to exist in Equestria (I highly doubt a game like God of War would exist in Equestria, for example; especially as we are playing this RP under the Tenet Against Violence), but it's nothing that a bit of Google research can't handle, I'd imagine.

(As a note, it's up for grabs a la the GM as to whether "modern consoles" akin to the Wii/Xbox/PS3 exist in Equestria; we do know they have arcade games at the very least.)

It's also conceivable that Arcadia could have a d12 in Knowledge (games), period. This would expand to sports (knowledge, however, not actual ability to play) and more puzzles in general -- including things like crosswords, Scrabble, Word Search, Sudoku, logic games, riddles, basic game theory, etc. Even cryptography, for instance. A skill in Knowledge (games) has the potential to be very useful in United We Stand, Divided We Fall, with a little creative thinking. Suppose we encounter a Sphinx-like creature guarding the Lantern next session - riddles would be under Arcadia's forte! (With Sunny assisting in any rhyming ones. ;D)

Potentially, as a video game addict and the fact that Arcadia is searching for the Ultimate Game and has a Corporation as a major enemy, Nintendo917 could split the d12 into two d8s: a d8 in Knowledge (games / video games) and a d8 in Knowledge (hacking) (plus more more skill point to be used elsewhere). This would provide skills in more computer science, programming, modding games, creating cheats, etc as well as providing a reason why the Corporation is after Arcadia in the first place: Arcadia tried hacking into the Corporation to get the Ultimate Game, and the Corporation went Oh No You Don't.

(However, I would not expect a skill in Knowledge (games) to give any sort of bonus to knowing how to wield a sword. I don't care how great you are at swinging a wii remote; it is NOT the same thing as an actual sword nor of fighting an actual opponent vs an AI. That would be like saying playing Tekken automatically makes someone a karate expert.)

TL;DR: VIDEO GAMES ARE TOTALLY USEFUL LET ME PLAY SOME MORE

That sounds fine by me, but that all depends on the GM. So are you okay with this, Archivist?

[Hunterwolf]

I might have to write this down later and extend Aegis's background but here's what I'm thinking. What if Princess Platinum had a sister name Princess Diamond (Totally Original right?/sarcasm.) and possibly married a very successful knight colt. I'm thinking maybe his name will be Targe or Pavise(Woo! More shield references!). This is where his heirloom shield could come into play. It could perhaps be a shield that involves a important part of his family's distant history or be simply a shield that his ancestor used. This might also give Aegis and everypony in his family the title of Prince or Princess without them actually being heirs to the throne but at the same time being connected to it. Anyway, that's what I'm roughly thinking. I look forward to hearing what you guys think!

I have another question though. You see, I was playing around in our chat room and I couldn't figure out how to change the color of my text.I tried several different methods but either the commands I put in show up as me saying them in the chat or no text appears and nothing happens. I even tried the control + K feature and all it does is ask me if I want to leave the page or not(maybe because I use Firefox?). Any suggestions?

[Archivist]

That sounds fine by me, but that all depends on the GM. So are you okay with this, Archivist?

That sounds perfectly fine to me if you want to go with that.

I might have to write this down later and extend Aegis's background but here's what I'm thinking. What if Princess Platinum had a sister name Princess Diamond (Totally Original right?/sarcasm.) and possibly married a very successful knight colt. I'm thinking maybe his name will be Targe or Pavise(Woo! More shield references!). This is where his heirloom shield could come into play. It could perhaps be a shield that involves a important part of his family's distant history or be simply a shield that his ancestor used. This might also give Aegis and everypony in his family the title of Prince or Princess without them actually being heirs to the throne but at the same time being connected to it. Anyway, that's what I'm roughly thinking. I look forward to hearing what you guys think!

I have another question though. You see, I was playing around in our chat room and I couldn't figure out how to change the color of my text.I tried several different methods but either the commands I put in show up as me saying them in the chat or no text appears and nothing happens. I even tried the control + K feature and all it does is ask me if I want to leave the page or not(maybe because I use Firefox?). Any suggestions?

That background idea sounds good to me.

[Toboe LoneWolfHowling]

Yay! Just remember to update the Master Character Sheet, Nintendo917, so everyone knows what eventual skill you've chosen (video games vs games vs hacking, etc).

I have another question though. You see, I was playing around in our chat room and I couldn't figure out how to change the color of my text.I tried several different methods but either the commands I put in show up as me saying them in the chat or no text appears and nothing happens. I even tried the control + K feature and all it does is ask me if I want to leave the page or not(maybe because I use Firefox?). Any suggestions?

It depends on what IRC client you use.
1) You use the Ctrl+K method if you're using the mIRC client.
2) If you're using the Chatzilla add-on for Firefox like I do, you need to prefix your text with %C00, where 00 is a color code. Unfortunately, you'll need to add in the %C00 code each time you type something. So typing in [ %C05 I am saying something in brown] will show up as <Bali> I am saying something in brown
3) If you're using mibbit, you can click on the Colors Menu ala

and you won't have to prefix your text each time!
4) If you're using the website client offered by Canternet... unfortunately they do not have that option given as far as I can tell.
Other IRC clients may do things differently.

As a note, the mibbit chat client does allow people to log onto irc.canternet.org. The standard server is irc.mibbit.com, but it can also be used to access irc.synirc.net (to the #ponygoons) channel. Provided, of course, that the internet fairies don't nibble the wires.

[nintendo917What if God created the big bang, and we were both right?]

here's my updated sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... zOUE#gid=3

[hecmanstar]

Sorry I missed last session guys. I read the back log on session #2, so we all heading into basement to find some quest items? I am guessing, Slow Purpose is still following Sunrise.


@Archivist - Do we all get XP points for each session we attend or not?

[Hunterwolf]

Alright guys, I've done some writing and here is a very rough draft of Aegis's new background. I was very tired when I wrote it but I'd still appreciate feedback if anyone of you can bear reading through it.

Aegis was born into the life of luxury in Canterlot as son of a royal family. His parents, Prince Bravado and Princess Elegance are very prestigious in the land of Canterlot and come from the royal bloodline dating all the way back to the unification of the three pony tribes. Back then a relative of Princess Platinum; Princess Diamond married a very esteemed knight by the name of Targe who together helped to stabilize the union of the three tribes. Being direct decedents of Prince Targe and Princess Diamond as well as being Prince Bravados and Princess Elegances only son Aegis was expected to follow the same guidelines of how a high class royal pony should act and was expected as well to attend parties and social gatherings to one day become a big name in Canterlot.

However this was not what Aegis wanted to become. Since he was a young colt and being taught about high society he always dreamed of being a knight. Somepony who lived their life with honor and protected the innocent. Once he became of age his parents reluctantly accepted and supported Aegis’s dream of being a knight and even gave him permission to take their family’s heirloom on his travels; a shield that once belonged to Prince Targe and even helped Aegis get his cutie mark years earlier. The shield holds great sentimental value to him because it reminds him of what his goal in life is and where he comes from. Aegis now travels Equestria looking for ponies or anyone else in need to help him gain experience so that he can become a knight. He could probably just join right off the bat but Aegis doesn’t want to get any special treatment because of his royal bloodline and feels he needs to make a name for himself before joining.

During his travels Aegis likes to keep his royal status a secret because he doesn’t like it when ponies fear him or treat him as if he’s better then everypony else just because of whom his parents are. He prefers it when he can co-exist with ponies and not be treated differently. Being raised in Canterlot Aegis has developed an accent and knows quite a bit about high society but hopes ponies that notice this about him won’t look to deep into it. However, being that Aegis has a very big interest in being a knight he also knows a bit about military information.

As a note, the mibbit chat client does allow people to log onto irc.canternet.org. The standard server is irc.mibbit.com, but it can also be used to access irc.synirc.net (to the #ponygoons) channel. Provided, of course, that the internet fairies don't nibble the wires.

Thanks for the info Toboe LoneWolf! I think I got it to work now by connecting to canternet.org through middit.com but I won't know for sure until our next session.

@Archivist - Do we all get XP points for each session we attend or not?

I'm pretty sure that you only get exp for sessions you attend. Only reason I'm even saying anything though to something that's not directed at me is because you may have to wait a while for a reply from Archivist since he's probably having a blast at gencon around now.

[nintendo917What if God created the big bang, and we were both right?]

For the next game, I'll try my best to get Bloodstar to join us.

P.S. Is there a way to look at everyone else's character sheets?

[Toboe LoneWolfHowling]

P.S. Is there a way to look at everyone else's character sheets?

The Master Character Sheet is a Google Spreadsheet; one sheet per character. Like Microsoft Excel, there are tabs at the bottom with each character's name that links to each character's sheet. Also note that there is another tab called "Session Logs" that links to all of the session logs.

Alright guys, I've done some writing and here is a very rough draft of Aegis's new background. I was very tired when I wrote it but I'd still appreciate feedback if anyone of you can bear reading through it.

Aegis was born into the life of luxury in Canterlot as son of a royal family. His parents, Prince Bravado and Princess Elegance are very prestigious in the land of Canterlot and come from the royal bloodline dating all the way back to the unification of the three pony tribes. Back then a relative of Princess Platinum; Princess Diamond married a very esteemed knight by the name of Targe who together helped to stabilize the union of the three tribes. Being direct decedents of Prince Targe and Princess Diamond as well as being Prince Bravados and Princess Elegances only son Aegis was expected to follow the same guidelines of how a high class royal pony should act and was expected as well to attend parties and social gatherings to one day become a big name in Canterlot.

However this was not what Aegis wanted to become. Since he was a young colt and being taught about high society he always dreamed of being a knight. Somepony who lived their life with honor and protected the innocent. Once he became of age his parents reluctantly accepted and supported Aegis’s dream of being a knight and even gave him permission to take their family’s heirloom on his travels; a shield that once belonged to Prince Targe and even helped Aegis get his cutie mark years earlier. The shield holds great sentimental value to him because it reminds him of what his goal in life is and where he comes from. Aegis now travels Equestria looking for ponies or anyone else in need to help him gain experience so that he can become a knight. He could probably just join right off the bat but Aegis doesn’t want to get any special treatment because of his royal bloodline and feels he needs to make a name for himself before joining.

During his travels Aegis likes to keep his royal status a secret because he doesn’t like it when ponies fear him or treat him as if he’s better then everypony else just because of whom his parents are. He prefers it when he can co-exist with ponies and not be treated differently. Being raised in Canterlot Aegis has developed an accent and knows quite a bit about high society but hopes ponies that notice this about him won’t look to deep into it. However, being that Aegis has a very big interest in being a knight he also know a bit about military information.

Okay, if we ever manage to get into some fancy-party shindig (hey, magic doors, it could happen) Aegis' reaction should be hilarious. Or some royal proceedings that just happen to go through Derbyshire. >D

One day, I'll write up Bali's cutie mark story. Not surprisingly, it involves explosions. :3

[Hunterwolf]

Okay, if we ever manage to get into some fancy-party shindig (hey, magic doors, it could happen) Aegis' reaction should be hilarious. Or some royal proceedings that just happen to go through Derbyshire. >D

One day, I'll write up Bali's cutie mark story. Not surprisingly, it involves explosions. :3

Oh yeah, if a situation like that ever comes up you can be sure Aegis is gonna do his very best to remain hidden from anypony that might have even the slightest chance of recognizing him!

If you do make a cutie mark story for Bali I'd love to read it! I might even do one for Aegis but his background is long enough as it is and I don't want to overdo it.

I also edited my character a tiny bit. I changed his eye color from light blue to a dark shade of purple. I did this because I realized his color scheme was very close to Shining Armor (Both Aegis and him had a white coat with light blue eyes) so in the interest of being mildly original his eyes are now a different color.

[hecmanstar]

@hunterwolf - Your new story is good. Lost me in the family history but is a great overall background. Not a stuck up rich pony thinking he is better then every one else since he is born with riches and a title, like I thought. Maybe, add a bit of drama by having Aegis' family refuse to support his little journey. Also have him just take the shield or maybe just discover it by chance.

[Hunterwolf]

@hunterwolf - Your new story is good. Lost me in the family history but is a great overall background. Not a stuck up rich pony thinking he is better then every one else since he is born with riches and a title, like I thought. Maybe, add a bit of drama by having Aegis' family refuse to support his little journey. Also have him just take the shield or maybe just discover it by chance.

Thanks for the feedback! I actually did think of doing the whole "parents are against him" thing and even Aegis secretly running away from Canterlot as well as him just kinda taking the family heirloom. This however would set off a chain of events that would make future plans for Aegis more...complicated. For instance, if a young adult prince just ran away you can be sure that someone like that would be searched for and since his parents are royalty as well they would surely have resources to use to find him and being searched for would mean it would be that much harder for Aegis to keep his royalty a secret. Another complication is I planned that Aegis would one day return to Canterlot possibly to join the Knights or simply to visit (It is his home after all). If his parents were against him then returning wouldn't be much of an option because again being that his parents would most likely have connections as royalty then they could try to make sure that Aegis would have a hard time being accepted into the Knights or army.

Ultimately though I want Aegis' history to follow the same guidelines of the show and to my knowledge there hasn't been one instance in Friendship is Magic where you see bad parents. In light of that I wanted Prince Bravado and Princess Elegance to want something different for Aegis but at the same time be loving parents so in the end I just made them be reluctant in supporting him. A good thing about going this route is that it would do away with the stereotype of most/all rich people/ponies being total snobs. It might not be the most epic thing I chose for him and probably not as interesting but there ya go.

As for the bloodline part I am sorry about that. I just wasn't sure where to fit that in his background. I wanted to establish why and how Aegis was a prince and also explain the significance of his family's heirloom. I admit that I only explained where the heirloom comes from but if I want to expand on that I can later (Which I probably won't, bio is long enough as it is). In case some of you are unfamiliar with the references I made let me explain. Princess Platinum was the Unicorn that Rarity played as in Hearths Warming Eve and by Princess Platinum having a sister I could establish a royal bloodline that wasn't too connected to Princess Celestia and Luna (Thanks for the idea Archivist!). As for Aegis' descendants Targe and Diamond helping to stabilizing the three pony tribes/races that was just something a little extra I added to make the family history a little more interesting.

To long didn't read version: I thought about this a lot! This is best solution!

Seriously though Hecmanstar thanks for your input and feedback!

I do have a question again though for everybody. While thinking/looking up names for Aegis' parents I really liked his mom being Princess Elegance (Sounds neat!). As for his dad I just settled for Bravado. Does anyone have any ideas on a better name for his dad? I would want it to be classy/fancy in a way but I just couldn't think of anything. For those that might wonder Bravado is a fancy way of saying Arrogance.

[hecmanstar]

@Hunterwolf - The names for Aegis parents are fine, wolf. Its just a bit more information for me to think about.

[SunriseSongSpreading boxes of sunshine to all who want them!]

Okay, guys, I am psyched for this Friday's session. However, I do want to make a minor request.

The originally slated timetable was from 8:30 to Midnight. My kids start going back to school next Tuesday, which isn't going to be that big of an impact--but I'll be honest, staying up until 1 AM is just something I really would prefer not to do. Before each session, I make sure to take a 5-Hour Energy or I'll be fading by 11:30 from getting up way too damn early and not doing enough with my day, save for putting out minor fires as they happen to crop up.

I know that we've had some minor issues with all of us getting to the chat on time, but could I ask that we start trying to wrap up things by 11:45 so I can start retraining my body to get up at 6 AM? I don't want to truncate on the fun or be any sort of wet blanket, but this is just a reality that I need to make you guys aware of before it starts to begin to affect my ability to enjoy all of the funfun we're having!

2 days, 10 hours and 12 minutes (typed at 10:18 EDT Wednesday the 21st)

-Sunny

[Hunterwolf]

@Hunterwolf - The names for Aegis parents are fine, wolf. Its just a bit more information for me to think about.

Yeah, I guess I got a little carried away with Aegis' information. Now that I think about it, in the long run I suppose it doesn't really matter what his parents names are because it's not like that's going to have any real impact on the campaign. Sorry guys, I didn't mean to make a small fan fiction about my character. ^^;

Okay, guys, I am psyched for this Friday's session. However, I do want to make a minor request.

The originally slated timetable was from 8:30 to Midnight. My kids start going back to school next Tuesday, which isn't going to be that big of an impact--but I'll be honest, staying up until 1 AM is just something I really would prefer not to do. Before each session, I make sure to take a 5-Hour Energy or I'll be fading by 11:30 from getting up way too damn early and not doing enough with my day, save for putting out minor fires as they happen to crop up.

I know that we've had some minor issues with all of us getting to the chat on time, but could I ask that we start trying to wrap up things by 11:45 so I can start retraining my body to get up at 6 AM? I don't want to truncate on the fun or be any sort of wet blanket, but this is just a reality that I need to make you guys aware of before it starts to begin to affect my ability to enjoy all of the funfun we're having!

2 days, 10 hours and 12 minutes (typed at 10:18 EDT Wednesday the 21st)

-Sunny

Personally I have no issue with this and really if sessions ended at midnight that would just mean that we get in a three and a half hour session instead of a four and a half hour session.

Speaking of next session though I'm really looking forward to it as well! I just got a new cheap headset and I look forward to seeing how it handles skype calls.(The packaging said it was good for skype but we'll see Friday.)

[Archivist]

Sorry for taking a bit of time getting back here. GenCon just exhausted me, and I’m trying to get over a head cold on top of everything else.

Thus far you guys have earned 4 XP over the course of two sessions.

I'm really liking the new background Hunterwolf!

I have no issues with ending the sessions a little before midnight. I would just have to write sessions to try and fit within that new timeframe. Which wouldn’t be much of a problem. Honestly the current adventure we are on has gone on a bit longer than I expected! But I suppose that happens when it has been awhile since I have directly written anything.

[Toboe LoneWolfHowling]

Sorry guys, I didn't mean to make a small fan fiction about my character. ^^;

Pffffffffffffft I am, just for my own amusement. I'm cramming in as much hijinks and lulz I can get into Bali's cutie mark story. Crafts! Angst! Fireworks! Rubber chickens! (Because eventually there's always a rubber chicken when lulz is involved.) I have no idea if any of this will ever become relevant to the campaign, but it's still fun!

Tagging after what SunriseSong's brought up, come October Friday's will be a near non-option for me, unless we shift the time to 9:30PM - 1AM (still 3.5hrs), which is what we've been doing anyway with all the technical difficulties. On the other hand, we can shift to Wednesdays, 6:15PM-11PM as was the original plan, but that still isn't really optimal for SunriseSong.

And welcome back, Archivist! Hope you had a great time at GenCon, and that you're over the worst of the head cold. August does seem to be the time for summer colds. :/

[SunriseSongSpreading boxes of sunshine to all who want them!]

Hmmm...that might not work so bad, with the 9:30 - 1. As it is only one night a week and on the cusps of the weekend, hopefully I can get away with that. And, yes, sadly, Toboe--Wednesdays are still non-negotiable, especially that early. I'd love to do it that way, but kids and the like--priorities.

[Hunterwolf]

Pffffffffffffft I am, just for my own amusement. I'm cramming in as much hijinks and lulz I can get into Bali's cutie mark story. Crafts! Angst! Fireworks! Rubber chickens! (Because eventually there's always a rubber chicken when lulz is involved.) I have no idea if any of this will ever become relevant to the campaign, but it's still fun!

...Let me rephrase. I didn't mean to add more information then was needed for our campaign on this thread. You're right though, writing all this stuff is pretty fun and I may add more (not here though) and perhaps even adopt Aegis as a personal OC (don't have one yet) since I've put in some work to get his character and background established(Also I think he turned out pretty cool!). That's getting a little ahead of myself though but we'll see what happens.

As Toboe LoneWolf said, welcome back Archivist! As for scheduling our sessions outside of September...I guess we'll just have to discuss that more but it seems it might get complicated. My schedule is pretty flexible for now though.

Also I got a question. It's a bit off topic but could anyone direct me to a place to get some tips and ask questions about hosting a game for Savage Worlds? I made a post in the appropriate thread here on Ponygoons over a week ago but I haven't got a reply yet. Reason I'm asking is because I'm entertaining the idea of trying my hand at GMing someday.

[Archivist]

Unfortunantly it is looking like I will be unable to GM this Friday due to illness. This head cold is just sucking the energy, and worst still, makes it very difficult for me to speak. At the moment I can't get through a sentence or two without going into a coughing fit, which in turn tears my throat up if I keep trying to talk. Not something that is terribly helpful when I am trying to manage a game. So I'm thinking of just calling this upcoming session off, and just resting to work on getting better instead of straining myself and just dragging this sickness out.

As Toboe LoneWolf said, welcome back Archivist! As for scheduling our sessions outside of September...I guess we'll just have to discuss that more but it seems it might get complicated. My schedule is pretty flexible for now though.

Also I got a question. It's a bit off topic but could anyone direct me to a place to get some tips and ask questions about hosting a game for Savage Worlds? I made a post in the appropriate thread here on Ponygoons over a week ago but I haven't got a reply yet. Reason I'm asking is because I'm entertaining the idea of trying my hand at GMing someday.

For my own schedule I am pretty flexible to try and keep this game going.

You could try and talk to Rodge March himself considering he might have some better ideas on that topic. He is usually available via email.

[Hunterwolf]

Unfortunantly it is looking like I will be unable to GM this Friday due to illness. This head cold is just sucking the energy, and worst still, makes it very difficult for me to speak. At the moment I can't get through a sentence or two without going into a coughing fit, which in turn tears my throat up if I keep trying to talk. Not something that is terribly helpful when I am trying to manage a game. So I'm thinking of just calling this upcoming session off, and just resting to work on getting better instead of straining myself and just dragging this sickness out.

Aww...well that's unfortunate. I think that it's probably best to call it off then. Better to feel 100% next week then to try to tough through narration and damage your voice (as you said). On top of that it wouldn't be any fun playing a game while you're ill so get well soon!

Also thanks for the advice, I may send an e-mail to Rodger or possibly a note on Deviantart.

[Toboe LoneWolfHowling]

Aw man, hope you get better soon, Archivist! A-at least it's near the weekend so you can rest all day long. Headcolds suck.

Ha ha, Hunterwolf, I've been entertaining the same question - what's it like to GM? ;D Headcolds notwithstanding, it sounds like fun! You know, maybe we can run one-shot adventures -- not full-length campaigns like what Archivist is doing, but shorter ones, like the ones Marsh ran with Apple Cider and Sandy. I think it could be fun to try an AU-verse of our current party in different settings. What if Aegis, Bali, Sunny, Slow, Arcadia, et al were actually in a more traditional Savage Worlds setting and they had to, I dunno, go save some princess or something. Or rescue somepony in a dungeon. Or maybe they're stuck on the moon.

Hey. Magic doors. It could happen.

[Hunterwolf]

Aw man, hope you get better soon, Archivist! A-at least it's near the weekend so you can rest all day long. Headcolds suck.

Ha ha, Hunterwolf, I've been entertaining the same question - what's it like to GM? ;D Headcolds notwithstanding, it sounds like fun! You know, maybe we can run one-shot adventures -- not full-length campaigns like what Archivist is doing, but shorter ones, like the ones Marsh ran with Apple Cider and Sandy. I think it could be fun to try an AU-verse of our current party in different settings. What if Aegis, Bali, Sunny, Slow, Arcadia, et al were actually in a more traditional Savage Worlds setting and they had to, I dunno, go save some princess or something. Or rescue somepony in a dungeon. Or maybe they're stuck on the moon.

Hey. Magic doors. It could happen.

I was actually thinking of starting an one off if I decided to do it. Better not to be too ambitious your first time in my opinion. The idea of using our characters is rather interesting but doesn't the GM not control any characters unless it's NPC's that progress the story? Don't get me wrong I'd love to play my character while GMing. Kinda like being the banker in a Monopoly game but I'd imagine that being both would be complicated especially since the GM would know what happens next in the story giving his or her character an unfair advantage.

[Toboe LoneWolfHowling]

Yeah, if you're GMing and we're using our characters you'd have to treat Aegis as an NPC, and therefore not in the party.

So maybe the party is at an actual party (;D) in Canterlot, and Aegis is an NPC that the party can ask him questions (with Mom Elegance and Dad Bravado ;D) about the political standings in Canterlot, trying to figure out who's the rascal that's planning on ruining Princess Luna's first ever midnight ball before it occurs. Or in my case, something did dang gone broke and Bali's there to fix it, and in the process passes on a rumor to the party. Things like that.

Sure, it'd be kind of weird to have our characters in the United We Stand, Divided We Fall campaign and then randomly plop them into some other scenario, and always have to remember that "that is there, this is here." The less-confusing option is just to create new characters purposely for the one-shot adventures. I just figured 1) it'd be funny and 2) we already got all the stats worked out for these characters, so why not.

[Hunterwolf]

Yeah, if you're GMing and we're using our characters you'd have to treat Aegis as an NPC, and therefore not in the party.

So maybe the party is at an actual party (;D) in Canterlot, and Aegis is an NPC that the party can ask him questions (with Mom Elegance and Dad Bravado ;D) about the political standings in Canterlot, trying to figure out who's the rascal that's planning on ruining Princess Luna's first ever midnight ball before it occurs. Or in my case, something did dang gone broke and Bali's there to fix it, and in the process passes on a rumor to the party. Things like that.

Sure, it'd be kind of weird to have our characters in the United We Stand, Divided We Fall campaign and then randomly plop them into some other scenario, and always have to remember that "that is there, this is here." The less-confusing option is just to create new characters purposely for the one-shot adventures. I just figured 1) it'd be funny and 2) we already got all the stats worked out for these characters, so why not.

I have to admit, that scenario seems really awesome! Now that I think about it Aegis and family talking with the party about Canterlot stuff sounds hilarious. Like maybe one thing that could happen is Aegis is trying to brief the party on basics of fitting in high society so that they can successfully be undercover at Luna's midnight ball or whatever. Then while he's doing that have his parents or more specifically his dad act really loud and obnoxious around him (If I keep his dads name as Bravado I would definitely play around with him being all arrogant and loud) . Who knows, maybe I'll play around with that idea if all goes well.

[Toboe LoneWolfHowling]

Let's get those gears running! I don't know if I can create a one-shot adventure for tonight since Archivist is out, but hey, sometimes I'm pretty good at throwing things together on the fly.

[nintendo917What if God created the big bang, and we were both right?]

If you do plan on making a one shot adventure, do we use different characters, or can we use our own?

P.S. Get well soon Archivist. If i could, I would punch Common Cold in the dick for you.

[Hunterwolf]

I gotta run somewhere right now but maybe we can all figure out something before 7:30 rolls around. I'll be brainstorming while I'm doing my errands but we'll see what happens. Anybody that is for an one shot with a super newbi GM (me or Toboe LoneWolf)be sure to say yay or nay to it.

As for the concept of the setting of the one shot. If I'm the one that's going to try to host it I'm thinking I would make a setting where you all use your characters that we use for United We Stand, Divided We Fall. I already got a basic setting in mind but we'll see.

[Toboe LoneWolfHowling]

If you do plan on making a one shot adventure, do we use different characters, or can we use our own?

It's up to you. If you want you can create a brand-new character (you'll have to tell us the stats beforehand, obviously), or use Arcadia. You'll also have to remember that Arcadia in this one shot has never seen Bali before, never seen Tricky the Bard before, never got stuck with an evil Second Shadow before, etc. (And XP gained from this one-shot does not apply to the United We Stand campaign.)

I've already got a seed of an idea guys; all I gotta do is roll up the antagonist encounter and guess what the party will do! YEE-HAW! 8D And yes, anyone who wants in on the one-shot, just give us a yay or nay so we know how many characters are going on this one-shot adventure. Any random bystanders are free to join in or just lurk too, just give us a heads-up!

Hunterwolf, I should be online an hour or two before 8:30 EST (Skype okay?), so maybe we can chat and see who's one-shot adventure we should run first.

[nintendo917What if God created the big bang, and we were both right?]

so we don't even gain experience in this one shot?
If that's the case then I'll consider using my second character, Thunderstruck.

[Toboe LoneWolfHowling]

Well, technically you'll gain experience, but they'll only be in context of these one-shots. It wouldn't be fair to Archivist after all; it's his campaign. It'll be up to Hunterwolf to say whether XP gained in one-shots I GM count for his one-shots, and vice versa.

All right! Looking to see how Thunderstruck fares! (I promise there are no Second Shadows in my one-shot. ;D) Just put the stats up somewhere (googleDoc, DA, here on the forums, whatever) and share it with us so us newbie GMs know what's going on.